Methods, systems, and computer readable media for online community-driven computer game development

ABSTRACT

The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, and computer readable media for online community-driven computer game development. According to one aspect of the subject matter described herein, a method for community-driven computer game development is provided. The method includes providing at least one server comprising one or more computers programs for receiving a plurality of computer game idea submissions from members of an online community, where each computer game idea submission includes a description of a computer game to be developed. At least one of a number of votes and a rating is received from the online community for each of the computer game idea submissions. One or more finalists are determined from the plurality of computer game submissions based on the relative number of votes or the rating for each of the computer game idea submissions, where the finalists are a subset of the computer game idea submissions. At least one of a number of votes and a rating is received from the online community for each of the one or more finalists. A winner is selected from the one or more finalists based on the relative numbers of votes or the rating for each of the one or more finalists. A computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner is developed.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/161,386 filed Mar. 18, 2009; the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates to computer game development. More particularly, the subject matter described herein relates to methods, systems, and computer readable media for online community-driven computer game development.

BACKGROUND

Conventional computer game development begins when a software development team (hereinafter, “developer”) including a relatively small number of people, generates game ideas, discusses the ideas amongst themselves, and selects a game idea to develop into a computer game. This process may be informed by polling data or sales of previous similar games, but is fundamentally without input from the online community constituting the intended purchasers of the game to be developed. Typically, only during the later stages of game development (e.g., beta testing) does the online community provide input about the game.

One problem associated with the conventional computer game development described above is that good computer game ideas may not be generated by the developer. This may be due in part to the small number of people generating the game ideas, the potentially homogenous experiences of the developers, or various market pressures. A result is that potentially successful game ideas may fail to be developed into computer games and released into the marketplace.

Another problem with conventional computer game development is that community input may not be received early enough in the game development process to impact the final game. For example, many design decisions including art direction, and software coding may be difficult to change based on feedback received from the online community during beta testing. Instead, only minor changes such as play balancing or bug fixes are typically addressed before the final version of the game is released to the public.

Accordingly, there exists a need for improved methods, systems, and computer readable media for online community-driven computer game development.

SUMMARY

The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, and computer readable media for online community-driven computer game development. According to one aspect of the subject matter described herein, a method for community-driven computer game development is disclosed. The method includes providing at least one server comprising one or more computers programs for receiving a plurality of computer game idea submissions from members of an online community, where each computer game idea submission includes a description of a computer game to be developed. At least one of a number of votes and a rating is received from the online community for each of the computer game idea submissions. One or more finalists are determined from the plurality of computer game submissions based on the relative number of votes or the rating for each of the computer game idea submissions, where the finalists are a subset of the computer game idea submissions. At least one of a number of votes and a rating is then received from the online community for each of the one or more finalists. A winner is selected from the one or more finalists based on the relative numbers of votes or the rating for each of the one or more finalists. A computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner is developed.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, a system for online community-driven computer game development is disclosed. The system includes a community input module that receives a plurality of computer game idea submissions from members of an online community, where each computer game idea submission includes a description of a computer game to be developed. The community input module also receives at least one of a number of votes and a rating for each of the computer game idea submissions for each of one or more finalists from the online community, where the finalists are a subset of the computer game idea submissions. A game idea contest module determines one or more finalists from the plurality of computer game submissions based on the relative number of votes or the rating for each of the computer game idea submissions. The game idea contest module then selects a winner from the one or more finalists based on the relative numbers of votes or the rating for each of the one or more finalists. A game development module develops a computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner.

The subject matter described herein for online community-driven computer game development may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. The subject matter described herein may be implemented using a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by the processor of a computer control the computer to perform steps. Exemplary non-transitory computer readable media suitable for implementing the subject matter described herein include disk memory devices, chip memory devices, programmable logic devices, and application-specific integrated circuits. In addition, a computer program product that implements the subject matter described herein may be implemented on a single device or computing platform or may be distributed across multiple devices or computing platforms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter described herein will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing exemplary steps for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating various exemplary stages of a game idea submission contest for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 4 is diagram illustrating exemplary game development stages for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 5 is diagram showing various exemplary rewards for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; and

FIG. 6 is block diagram of exemplary system components for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing exemplary steps for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to FIG. 1, in step 100, a plurality of computer game submissions are received from members of an online community, where each computer game submission includes a description of a computer game to be developed. For example, computer game idea submissions may include a video, a flash animation, a text document, an audio file, or any combination thereof. Game idea submissions may be submitted via a social networking website, email, or an electronic form provided by the developer. The computer game submissions may describe a computer game to be developed for a variety of electronic gaming platforms such as a dedicated closed-box computer game platform (e.g., XBOX 360, PS3, Wii), a smart phone (e.g., iPhone, HTC Nexus One), and a personal computer (PC) (e.g., Windows, Mac, Linux).

As an example, a user may decide to participate by submitting a game idea entitled, “Sumo Balls”. The user's idea may feature Sumo Wrestlers shaped like balls that roll around the screen based on how the game player holds an input device (e.g., an iPhone or gamepad). The goal of the game may be to navigate the Sumo characters through various levels and fight enemies along the way. The user may create a 90 second video pitching his game Sumo Balls. The user may also create concept art for the sumo characters and narrate a slide show showing this artwork. The user may write a two paragraph description of the concept and upload the description, video, and images as a game idea submission.

In step 102, one of a number of votes or a rating is received from the online community for each of the computer game submissions. Voting may include providing each member of the online community with a single vote, where the members may vote for their favorite game idea submission. Alternatively, or in addition, a rating may include a rating scale where members of the online community may rate multiple game idea submissions from most favorite to least favorite.

Continuing the example described above, Sumo Balls may now available for voting, and the user may be motivated to get his friends to vote on his game. Therefore, the user may invite other members of the online community (e.g., Facebook friends) to vote for his game. The user may also email other members of the online community and invite them to vote for his game. The user may even tell his friends at school to come and vote for his game. In addition to the user's personal invitations, other users may simply view the game submission online and vote for the Sumo Balls game.

In step 104, one or more finalists are determined based on the relative number of votes or the rating for each of the computer game submissions from the plurality of computer game submissions. For example, the top 50% of game idea submissions having the most votes may be selected as finalists. Alternatively, one point may be assigned for each rating level and the top 50% of game idea submissions having the most points (i.e., the highest rating) may be selected as finalists. For example, consider a rating scale of 1-5 “bananas” where 5 bananas indicates a most favorite and 1 banana indicates a least favorite. Next, consider that 1 point may be awarded for each banana rating. In a pool including two game idea submissions, each game idea submission having ten ratings, a game idea submission having an average of 4 bananas may be selected as a finalist over a game idea submission averaging just 2 bananas. It may also be appreciated that the number of votes and a rating for game idea submissions are not mutually exclusive and may be combined for selecting the finalists without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. The determination of the one or more finalists may be made periodically at predetermined time intervals, such as on a weekly basis, so that one (or more) finalists may be selected from the plurality of computer game submissions.

In step 106, one of a number of votes or a rating is received for each of the one or more finalists from the online community. This may be similar to the process described above with respect to step 102. However, it is appreciated that the votes and/or rating may not carry over from the votes received in step 102 and may instead be reset in order to give each finalist a fresh opportunity to be selected as the winning game idea submission from among the pool of finalists.

In step 108, a computer game to be developed is selected based on the relative numbers of votes or the rating for each of the one or more finalists and the selected computer game is developed. Again, this may be similar to the process described above with respect to step 104. However, in contrast to step 104, only one winner is typically selected in step 108. In other possible embodiments, though, a runner-up or multiple winners may be selected from the pool of finalists.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to FIG. 2, the process may begin with game idea submission stage 200. For example, as described above with respect to step 100 of FIG. 1, computer game idea submissions may include a video, a flash animation, a text document, an audio file, or any combination thereof and may be submitted via a social networking website, email, or an electronic form provided by the developer.

Simultaneous with game idea submission stage 200, the submitted game ideas may be commented upon in game idea community contribution stage 202. This may allow for members of the online community to provide input and feedback to the developer at an early enough stage in the development process to have a significant impact on various aspects of the game to be developed. Community members may participate in both games ideas and games currently being developed. Community members may moderate, comment, search, or submit their own content, whether associated with their own game ideas, the game ideas of other, or games in development.

After game ideas have been submitted, they may be voted on by the online community during game idea voting stage 204. As described above with respect to step 102 in FIG. 1, voting may include providing each member of the online community with a single vote, where the members may vote for their favorite game idea submission. Alternatively, or in addition, a rating may include a rating scale where members of the online community may rate multiple game idea submissions from most favorite to least favorite.

At the conclusion of game idea voting stage 204, a winning game idea may be selected at step 206 and the winning game idea 206 may be developed into an actual game at game development stage 208. As described above with respect to step 108 in FIG. 1, the winning game idea may be selected based on the finalist with the most votes, the highest rating, or both. The winning game idea submission may then be provided to a professional computer game development team for developing the game idea into a final software product that can be released into the marketplace.

Simultaneous with game development stage 208, submitted game ideas may be commented upon in game development community contribution stage 210. Game development community contribution stage 210 allows users to submit content related to the game ideas, or games in development. This content could be images, sound, or video. This module may allow users to participate more deeply in the game ideation, and development process. As an example, consider a submitter's game is chosen to be developed, where the game is currently at a stage where core characters are being sketched. Several sketches may be displayed to other users for comment. A member of the online community who has been following the development of the game may wish to participate in its development. The member may create a character sketch or other commentary regarding the game and uses this information may potentially be included in the game development process going forward.

At the conclusion of game development stage 208, the finished game may be released at step 212.

After the game's release, post-release support period 214 may begin. For example, after release, the game developers may continue create updates to the game and merchandise and market the game in an ongoing basis to the community that helped to create it.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating exemplary stages of a game idea submission contest for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. The game idea contest may be divided into multiple stages or “tiers”. At each stage of the game idea contest, the best game ideas may rise to the top based on comments and votes from the community and progress to the next stage. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the game idea contest may be divided into three tiers: bronze tier 300, silver tier 302, and gold/development tier 304.

In bronze tier 300, game idea submission requirements 306 may include a 1,500 character text description of the game idea and a 1.5 minute video presentation. In one embodiment, the text description may be provided by creating a user profile and posting the description on a designated forum. Videos may be uploaded via YouTube or another free online video service. A subset of the initial set of game submissions may be selected for promotion to the next tier and any additional rewards or incentives may be given based on online community voting. It is appreciated that the timing of this winnowing process may be different for each tier. For example, for bronze tier 300, top submissions may be determined every week 308. Therefore, if one hundred game idea submissions are received during a first week, at the end of that week, the top fifty game idea submissions may be selected for promotion to silver tier 302. In addition to moving on to the next tier, rewards 310 may also be given to submitters for bronze tier 300. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, bronze tier 300 submitters may receive an increase in their user rank (e.g., from rank 1 to rank 2). As will be described in greater detail below, various benefits may be given to users for achieving higher ranks.

In silver tier 302, game idea submission requirements 314 may include three pages of text description and three minutes of video. Because the submissions are longer and more detailed and there are fewer submissions from which to choose, winners may be selected silver tier 302 less often than for bronze tier 300. For example, the top submission for silver tier 302 may be determined once every five weeks 316 instead of once every week 308. Rewards 320 may also be given to submitters for silver tier 302. For example, silver tier 302 winners may receive a $1,000 cash prize in addition to an increase in user rank (e.g., from rank 2 to rank 3). Therefore, continuing the scenario described above, if fifty game idea submissions were received from bronze tier 300, at the end of five weeks, a winning game idea submission may be selected for promotion to gold/development tier 304.

In gold/development tier 304, game idea submission requirements 322 may include no additional requirements above that which was provided for silver tier 302 (e.g., three pages of text description and three minutes of video). However, it may be appreciated that different requirements can be imposed at each tier 302-304, or not imposed, without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Rewards 326 for gold tier 304 may include a $10,000 cash prize and an increase in user rank (e.g., from rank 3 to rank 4). Continuing the scenario described above, the winning game idea submission received from silver tier 302 may be elevated to gold tier 304 for whatever game development time frame is chosen based on the complexity of the game and/or other market factors 324 (e.g., every three months) to be developed into an actual game. Exemplary stages of game development 208 will now be described below with respect to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is diagram illustrating exemplary game development stages for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. It is appreciated that the following description is intended to provide detail regarding the game development process and that users may engage with the process at any stage using this process. Referring to FIG. 4, game development process 208 may begin by preparing design document 400. Design document 400 may include a written description of a software product used to give a software developer overall guidance of the architecture of the software project. Design document 400 may outline all parts of the software and how they will work. Design document 400 may include a written description of the data design, architecture design, data flow diagram, interface design, and procedural design for the game to be developed. The data design may describe software structures, attributes, and relationships between data objects. The architecture design may map information flows to program structures. The data flow diagram may describe control input, processing, and output. The interface design may describe internal and external program interfaces, as well as the design of the human-computer interface. The procedural design may describe structured programming concepts representing procedural detail in order to facilitate translation into software code. During stage 400, various elements can be voted and commented on by online community members. These elements may include: game title, concept art, art direction, characters, back story, bosses, and levels of the game. Next, a prototype may be coded based on design document 400.

Prototype 402 (or pre-alpha) may include an early version of the game idea written in software code and may include specific sets of functions that are released as soon as the functionality is complete. In contrast to alpha and beta versions, the pre-alpha version 402 may not be feature complete. Activities performed during prototype 402 stage may include requirements analysis, software design, software development and unit testing. During stage 402, various elements can be voted and commented on by online community members. These elements may include: game title, character design, concept art, back story, bosses, levels of the game, gameplay types, and animations.

Alpha 404 may include a version of the computer game provided to internal software testers (i.e., different from the development team). Alpha testing is typically not open to end users. During stage 404, various elements can be voted and commented on by online community members. These elements may include: game title, character design, concept art, bosses, levels of the game, gameplay types, animations, and logo and merchandising.

Beta 406 may be the first version released outside the organization or community that develops the software, for the purpose of evaluation. Beta 406 may be software that has passed the alpha testing stage and released to users for software testing before its official release. Beta 406 may be released to the online community (e.g., the public) to allow the software to undergo usability testing so that any malfunctions found can be reported to the developers and fixed. Beta 406 may be unstable and cause crashes or data loss. Beta 406 may include all features, but may also include known issues and bugs of a less serious variety. Testing of beta 406 may include a feature freeze indicating that no more feature requirements will be developed and only software issues, bugs, and/or unimplemented features may be addressed. Additionally, testing of beta 406 may be either “closed” or “open”. Closed beta versions may be released to a select group of individuals for testing, while open beta versions may be released to a larger community such as the general public.

At step 408, the final game may be released and may be considered to be very stable and relatively bug-free with a quality suitable for wide distribution and use by end users. For the final release, a game may have completed all necessary commercialization activities necessary for making the game available to the general market either via the web or physical media. Commercialization activities may include, but are not limited to, preparing the availability of media through distribution centers, completion of marketing collateral in multiple languages, and/or completion of security and compliance tests.

FIG. 5 is diagram showing exemplary user ranks and badges/medals that may be achieved during online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to FIG. 5, user ranks 500 may include any number of ranks for differentiating between the quality and quantity of involvement of a user within the online community. For example, the lowest user rank may include private 502. Private 502 user rank may be assigned to each member upon registration (i.e., creation of a user profile). As such, the largest number of users at any given time may be private 502. An increase in rank may be achieved through online-community participation. For example, submitting a game idea, posting a comment to a game idea submission, linking to a game idea submission, or voting on a game idea may result in an increase in rank for the user. It is appreciated that each rank may be assigned a minimum point value required to achieve that rank and that different user actions may be associated with different point values. As a result, performing different actions may allow the user to increase his or her rank faster than other actions. An exemplary formula for the point spread for ranks may include:

Points needed per rank moving up=Int(Log 10(scale)×(scale×100)).

According to the above formula, as a user moves up in rank, the points needed for each subsequent rank increases in relation to scale. In one embodiment, various activities may be assigned the following number of points:

Activity Points A Vote on anything 2 A Comment 6 A Fan Art Image 20 A successful invitation 30 A Concept Submitted 40 A Concept Winner* 300

As shown in FIG. 5, ranks higher than private 502 may include, in order: private first class 504, sergeant third class 506, sergeant second class 508, sergeant first class 510, sub-officer 512, first sub-officer 514, sub-lieutenant 516, lieutenant 518, first lieutenant 520, captain 522, major 524, lieutenant colonel 526, colonel 528, brigade general 530, corps general 532, army general 534, and commander 536. In one embodiment, sergeant first class 510 may only be achieved after submitting a game idea that reaches silver tier 302. Similarly, major 524 may be achieved after submitting a game idea that reaches gold tier 304, and commander 536 may be achieved after submitting a game idea that has been developed 208.

Medals/badges 538 may include specific user achievements similar to those actions similar to those described above resulting in higher user ranks 500. In one embodiment, badge 540 may be awarded for posting the most comments during a particular time period (e.g., a week). Likewise, badge 542 may be awarded to the user making the most links from Facebook in a week, badge 544 may be awarded for submitting the most game ideas during a time period, and badge 546 may be awarded for having submitted the game idea that received the most votes during a time period. Ranks and badges may be displayed in several places. For example, on the user profile, a graphical representation of a user's rank and any badges that he or she has earned may be visible. In addition, any time the user interacts with the site through comments, or other activities, a smaller graphical representation of his or her rank, and badges may also be shown.

FIG. 6 is block diagram of exemplary system components for online community-driven computer game development according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to FIG. 6, one or more modules may be implemented as software applications being executed on a computer system. It is appreciated that the software applications may be executed by a single computer system or distributed across multiple computer systems without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. However, for simplicity of illustration the software modules are shown labeled on a single computing platform. Game idea submission module 600 may receive game idea submissions from users. For example, registered users (i.e., users having a user profile) may insert a game description and other supporting media, such as images or video, to game idea submission module 600. The submission may be limited to a predetermined length to ensure easy consumption by other users. Game idea submission module 600 may format each game idea submission into a format that is easily readable by community members. In addition, game submission module 600 may allow for community members to tag game idea submissions for content that violate the terms of use of the system or violate copyright laws. Game idea submission module 600 may also allow the submitter to notify his or her social web of a game idea submission and invite them to vote on the game idea submission. Game idea submission module 600 may communicate with game idea contest module 602 for submitting game ideas to a vote by the online-community.

Game idea contest module 602 may provide for game idea submissions to be rated, voted on, and commented upon by community members. As described above, during the game idea contest stage, a plurality of finalists may be selected from a set of game idea submissions based on a relative number of votes, a rating, or both. The winning game idea may be selected from the set of finalists in a similar manner. The winning game idea submission may then be provided to a professional computer game development team for developing the game idea into a final software product that can be released into the marketplace. During the game idea contest stage, game idea contest module may communicate with community input module 604 for receiving input from the online user community. Community input module 604 may include moderation module 606, commenting module 608, search module 610, and community-based content creation module 612.

Moderation module 606 may provide for moderating or otherwise editing game idea submissions either automatically (e.g., based on keywords) or manually by an administrator. For example, comments including racist or otherwise offensive language may be removed from the forums associated with a particular game idea submission. Moderation module 606 may allow community members to moderate and flag content. Administrators may also use moderation module 606 to view a list of content that needs moderation, and to then act on that content. As an example, consider a scenario in which game submission includes copyrighted songs as the background music for the submission video. A community member may notice the use a copyrighted song and, using moderation module 606, may flag the submission as requiring moderation. Administrators may determine that, in fact, the game submission uses a copyrighted song and may temporarily remove the game idea pending a request to change the background song. The user may amend the game submission by removing the song and administrators may re-enter the game into the contest.

Commenting module 608 may allow for members of the online community to comment on a game idea before and/or during development. For example, comments may be provided using email lists or integration with existing social networking sites like Facebook.com.

Search module 610 may allow users to search for content on the site about a particular game idea submission. For example, if one person tells a friend at school about a game that he submitted to the system (“Sumo Balls”), the friend can later logs into the system and use the search module 610 to enter “Sumo Balls”. Search module 610 may return a link to the Sumo Balls game submission, and the user may now able to view this content.

Community-based content creation module 612 may allow users to submit content related to the game ideas, games in development, or both. Community-based content creation module 612 may allow users to participate more deeply in the game ideation and development process. As an example, consider that a submitter's game, “Sumo Balls,” has been chosen for development via the game idea contest process described above. The game may be currently at the stage where core characters are being sketched and several such sketches may be displayed so that users can vote on which option they like best. A user following the game idea submission may wish to participate in its development. Therefore, the user may create a character sketch and submit it for potential inclusion in the game. Using community-based content creation module 612, moderators may then view the user's submission, and decide whether to include it in the voting group for character sketches. If accepted, community-based content creation module 612 may then insert the user's sketch into the character voting group, allowing it to be voted upon.

Community input module 604 may communicate with user profile module 614 for managing user profiles of the online community. For example, when a user registers, user profile module 614 may obtain his or her: name, address, username, password, age, gender, geographical data, and any other desired information about the user. In the case of the user's username and password, the user profile information may be used to uniquely identify the user. In other embodiments, the user profile information may be used for advertising or data mining purposes. One component of user profile module 614 includes ranking/badges module 616 which manages each user's rank as well as any awards or achievements he or she has earned (e.g., medals, badges, etc.).

After a winning game idea has been determined by game idea contest module 602, the game idea may be passed to game development module 618. Game development module 618 may track and manage the development process for each game under development. For example, a first game idea may be in the process of preparing a design document, while a second game idea may be in the beta stage (e.g., public or private beta testing). Game development module 618 may provide for tracking the development of each game though its various development stages from preparation of design document 400, through prototype 402, alpha 404, and beta 406, until finally reaching release version 408.

Finally, once a game has been released, e-commerce module 620 may provide the front- and back-end software for purchasing and delivering the game to customers. For example, e-commerce module 620 may manage the presentation of a website where the user may add the game he or she wishes to purchase to a virtual shopping cart. At checkout, the customer may enter his or her billing and shipping information, as well as whether the customer would like the game to be delivered electronically (e.g., direct download to his or her home computer) or physically delivered (e.g., mailing a DVD-ROM).

It will be understood that various details of the invention may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only, and not for the purpose of limitation. 

1. A method for online community-driven computer game development, the method comprising: providing at least one server comprising one or more computers programs for: receiving a plurality of computer game idea submissions from members of an online community, each computer game idea submission including a description of a computer game to be developed; receiving, from the online community, at least one of a number of votes and a rating for each of the computer game idea submissions; based on the relative number of votes or the rating for each of the computer game idea submissions, determining one or more finalists from the plurality of computer game submissions, wherein the finalists are a subset of the computer game idea submissions; receiving, from the online community, at least one of a number of votes and a rating for each of the one or more finalists; and based on the relative numbers of votes or the rating for each of the one or more finalists, selecting a winner from the one or more finalists and developing a computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner.
 2. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving comments from the online community regarding one or more of the computer game submissions.
 3. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving additional content from the online community regarding one or more of the computer game submissions.
 4. The method of claim 1 comprising providing a user ranking for members of the online community and at least one of providing a reward and increasing the user ranking based on a level of community involvement of the user.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein increasing the user ranking may include increasing the user ranking based on at least one of: submitting a game idea, having a game idea be selected as a finalist, having a game idea be selected as a winner, commenting on a game idea submission, linking to a game idea submission, providing additional content for a game idea submission, having a game idea receiving the most votes in a predetermined time period, having a game idea submission associated with the most links, and submitting the most game ideas in a predetermined time period.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein providing a reward includes providing at least one of money, trips, meetings with a professional game developer, and advertising.
 7. The method of claim 1 comprising providing at least one of selling and distributing the computer game developed based on the game idea submission of the winner.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a plurality of computer game submissions includes receiving computer game submissions via one of a social networking website and email.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a plurality of computer game submissions includes receiving one of a video, a flash animation, a text document, and an audio file.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the computer game submissions are for one of: a dedicated closed-box computer game platform, a handheld computer device, a mobile phone, a smart phone, and a personal computer.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of game submissions each have a first scope and each of the finalists have a second scope, wherein the second scope is larger than the first scope.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein determining one or more finalists from the plurality of computer game submissions includes holding a contest, wherein the contest is held periodically or at one or more variable time periods.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein developing a computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner includes creating at least one of: a game design document, a prototype-quality game, an alpha-quality game, a beta-quality game, and a release-quality game.
 14. A system for online community-driven computer game development, the system comprising: a community input module for: receiving a plurality of computer game idea submissions from members of an online community, each computer game idea submission including a description of a computer game to be developed; receiving, from the online community, at least one of a number of votes and a rating for each of the computer game idea submissions; and receiving, from the online community, at least one of a number of votes and a rating for each of one or more finalists, wherein the finalists are a subset of the computer game idea submissions; a game idea contest module for: determining one or more finalists from the plurality of computer game submissions based on the relative number of votes or the rating for each of the computer game idea submissions; and selecting a winner from the one or more finalists based on the relative numbers of votes or the rating for each of the one or more finalists; and a game development module for developing a computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner.
 15. The system of claim 14 comprising a commenting module for receiving comments from the online community regarding one or more of the computer game submissions.
 16. The system of claim 14 comprising a community-based content creation module for receiving additional content from the online community regarding one or more of the computer game submissions.
 17. The system of claim 14 comprising a ranking module for providing a user ranking for members of the online community and at least one of providing a reward and increasing the user ranking based on a level of community involvement of the user.
 18. The system of claim 17 wherein the ranking module is configured to increase the user ranking based on at least one of: submitting a game idea, having a game idea be selected as a finalist, having a game idea be selected as a winner, commenting on a game idea submission, linking to a game idea submission, providing additional content for a game idea submission, having a game idea receiving the most votes in a predetermined time period, having a game idea submission associated with the most links, and submitting the most game ideas in a predetermined time period.
 19. The system of claim 17 wherein the ranking module is configured to provide at least one of money, trips, meetings with a professional game developer, and advertising.
 20. The system of claim 14 comprising an e-commerce module for providing at least one of selling and distributing the computer game developed based on the game idea submission of the winner.
 21. The system of claim 14 wherein receiving a plurality of computer game submissions includes receiving computer game submissions via one of a social networking website and email.
 22. The system of claim 14 wherein receiving a plurality of computer game submissions includes receiving one of a video, a flash animation, a text document, and an audio file.
 23. The system of claim 14 wherein the computer game submissions are for one of: a dedicated closed-box computer game platform, a handheld computing device, a mobile phone, a smart phone, and a personal computer.
 24. The system of claim 14 wherein the plurality of game submissions each have a first scope and each of the finalists have a second scope, wherein the second scope is larger than the first scope.
 25. The system of claim 14 wherein determining one or more finalists from the plurality of computer game submissions includes holding a contest, wherein the contest is held periodically or at one or more variable time periods.
 26. The system of claim 14 wherein developing a computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner includes creating at least one of: a game design document, a prototype-quality game, an alpha-quality game, a beta-quality game, and a release-quality game.
 27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the processor of a computer control the computer to perform steps comprising: receiving a plurality of computer game idea submissions from members of an online community, each computer game idea submission including a description of a computer game to be developed; receiving, from the online community, at least one of a number of votes and a rating for each of the computer game idea submissions; based on the relative number of votes or the rating for each of the computer game idea submissions, determining one or more finalists from the plurality of computer game submissions, wherein the finalists are a subset of the computer game idea submissions; receiving, from the online community, at least one of a number of votes and a rating for each of the one or more finalists; and based on the relative numbers of votes or the rating for each of the one or more finalists, selecting a winner from the one or more finalists and developing a computer game based on the game idea submission of the winner. 